ETHICAL HACKING INTERNSHIP

Week 1 · Task 2 — Networking Basics

IP, Ports, Protocols & the OSI Model

Prepared for: Ethical Hacking Intern

Track: Ethical Hacking — Foundations
Open Window: July 3 – July 5
Max Score: 10

Submitted By: Hafsa Ahmad

Ethical Hacking Internship — Week 1Task 2: Networking Basics

Table of Contents

1. Task Overview

2. Day 1 — Learn & Perform

2.1 Learning Focus

2.2 Why This Matters

2.3 Steps to Perform

2.3.1 Find Your Private IP Address

2.3.2 IP Address — IPv4 vs IPv6

2.3.3 MAC Address

2.3.4 OSI 7 Layers — With One Example Each

2.3.5 Common Ports Table (10 Ports)

2.3.6 TCP vs UDP — 3 Key Differences

2.4 Learning Resources (Read / Hands-On)

2.5 Video Resources (Watch)

3. Day 2 — Write Report & Submit

3.1 Deliverable10

3.2 Submission Checklist

4. Appendix — Quick-Reference Notes

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Ethical Hacking Internship — Week 1Task 2: Networking Basics

1. Task Overview

This document defines Week 1, Task 2 of the Ethical Hacking Internship: Networking Basics. Every
offensive technique — scanning, enumeration, exploitation — depends on first understanding how a
network is addressed and how it talks. An intern who cannot read an IP, a port, or a protocol correctly
will misinterpret every tool's output that follows.

Task: Networking Basics — IP, Ports, Protocols & OSI Model

Open Window: July 3 – July 5
Max Score: 10
Objective: Understand IP addressing (IPv4/IPv6), MAC addressing, common ports, TCP vs UDP, and the
OSI 7-layer model.
Outcome: A written notes report covering IP/MAC explanation, the OSI 7-layer diagram, a
common-ports table, and TCP vs UDP.

2. Day 1 — Learn & Perform

2.1 Learning Focus

IP addressing (IPv4 vs IPv6), MAC addressing, common ports (20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 53, 80, 443), TCP vs
UDP, and the 7 layers of the OSI model.

2.2 Why This Matters

This is the most important base for ethical hacking. Before you can scan a target, exploit a service, or
intercept traffic, you must know what you are looking at: which address belongs to which host, which
port maps to which service, and which layer of the stack a given attack operates on. Skipping this step is
like a locksmith who has never looked at a lock.

2.3 Steps to Perform

1.​Find your computer's private IP address (Windows: ipconfig, Linux: ip a).
2.​Write the 7 OSI layers with one practical example per layer.
3.​Build a table of 10 common ports and their services.
4.​Write 3 clear differences between TCP and UDP.

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Ethical Hacking Internship — Week 1Task 2: Networking Basics

2.3.1 Find Your Private IP Address

Your private IP address identifies your device inside your local network (LAN). It is not visible to the
internet directly — your router translates it via NAT (Network Address Translation).

OS Command What It Shows

IPv4 address, subnet mask, default

Windows ipconfig
gateway

All interfaces with assigned

Linux ip a (or ip addr)
IPv4/IPv6 addresses

2.3.2 IP Address — IPv4 vs IPv6

An IP address is a unique identifier assigned to a device on a network so that data knows where to go.

Aspect IPv4 IPv6

128-bit, e.g.
Format 32-bit, e.g. [Link]
2001:0db8::ff00:42:8329

Practically unlimited (340

Address space ~4.3 billion addresses
undecillion)

Hexadecimal, colon-separated (8
Notation Dotted decimal (4 octets)
groups)

Growing adoption; many scanners

Relevance to Still the most common target default to IPv4-only, so IPv6 hosts
hacking address in most environments are often overlooked — a real blind
spot

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Ethical Hacking Internship — Week 1Task 2: Networking Basics

2.3.3 MAC Address

A MAC (Media Access Control) address is a 48-bit hardware identifier burned into a device's network
interface card (NIC), written as six pairs of hex digits (e.g., 00:1A:2B:3C:4D:5E). Unlike an IP address, a
MAC address operates at Layer 2 (Data Link) and only matters within the local network segment — it
never crosses a router as-is.

•​ First 3 bytes (OUI) identify the

manufacturer — useful for device
fingerprinting during reconnaissance.
•​ Attackers can spoof a MAC address to
bypass MAC-based access control or
impersonate a trusted device.
•​ Defenders use MAC address tables on
switches to detect ARP spoofing and rogue
devices.

2.3.4 OSI 7 Layers — With One Example Each

Remember it top-down as: All People Seem To Need Data Processing. Each layer below includes one
practical example to anchor the theory to something real.

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Ethical Hacking Internship — Week 1Task 2: Networking Basics

Layer
Layer # Common Protocols Practical Example
Name

Applicatio HTTP, HTTPS, DNS, SMTP, Browsing a website — the browser

7
n FTP builds the HTTP request here.

Presentati HTTPS encrypting the page content

6 TLS/SSL, JPEG, ASCII
on before it is sent.

Keeping a logged-in web session alive

5 Session NetBIOS, RPC, PPTP
between requests.

TCP handshake establishing a reliable

4 Transport TCP, UDP
connection to a web server.

A router forwarding a packet based on

3 Network IP, ICMP
its destination IP address.

A switch forwarding a frame based on

2 Data Link Ethernet, MAC, ARP
the destination MAC address.

The electrical signal travelling through

1 Physical Cabling, Wi-Fi radio, NICs
an Ethernet cable or Wi-Fi signal.

2.3.5 Common Ports Table (10 Ports)

These 10 ports account for the large majority of services discovered during a typical reconnaissance or
port-scanning phase.

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Ethical Hacking Internship — Week 1Task 2: Networking Basics

Port Protocol Service Notes

20 TCP FTP (Data) Actively transfers file data during an FTP session

21 TCP FTP (Control) Handles FTP commands and authentication

Encrypted remote shell access — a prime

22 TCP SSH
brute-force target

Unencrypted remote login — legacy and inherently

23 TCP Telnet
insecure

Sends outbound email; abused for spam relay if

25 TCP SMTP
misconfigured

Resolves domain names; a common tunneling/C2

53 TCP/UDP DNS
channel

80 TCP HTTP Unencrypted web traffic

443 TCP HTTPS Encrypted web traffic (TLS)

Windows file sharing; lateral movement and

445 TCP SMB
ransomware vector

Remote Desktop; frequent brute-force and

3389 TCP RDP
ransomware entry point

2.3.6 TCP vs UDP — 3 Key Differences

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Ethical Hacking Internship — Week 1Task 2: Networking Basics

Difference TCP UDP

Connection-oriented — performs a
Connectionless — sends data
Connection 3-way handshake (SYN, SYN-ACK,
immediately with no handshake
ACK) before sending data

Guarantees delivery and correct No delivery guarantee; lost packets

Reliability
order; retransmits lost packets are simply gone

Slower, higher overhead due to

Speed & Faster, lower overhead — ideal for
error-checking and
Overhead real-time data (DNS, video, gaming)
acknowledgments

2.4 Learning Resources (Read / Hands-On)

•​ TryHackMe — "What is Networking?" (free room) — foundational room covering core networking
concepts for beginners.

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Ethical Hacking Internship — Week 1Task 2: Networking Basics

•​ TryHackMe — "OSI Model" (free room) — hands-on walkthrough of all seven OSI layers with
practical examples.

The room is not available for free users so I watched a youtube video online.

[Link]

•​ TryHackMe — "Packets & Frames" (free room) — how data is actually structured and moved on
the wire.

The room is not available for free users. so I watched a youtube video online.

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Ethical Hacking Internship — Week 1Task 2: Networking Basics

So I watched a youtube video online.

[Link]

2.5 Video Resources (Watch)

•​ "OSI Model Explained | Networking Fundamentals for Beginners" YouTube.

[Link]

[Link]

•​ "Ports and Protocols Explained for Beginners" — YouTube.

[Link]

[Link]

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Ethical Hacking Internship — Week 1Task 2: Networking Basics

3. Day 2 — Write Report & Submit

3.1 Deliverable
A single, self-contained Networking Notes Report consolidating the Day 1 learning into a submittable
artifact, scored out of 10.

3.2 Submission Checklist

•​ Private IP address found and recorded, with the command used shown.
•​ All 7 OSI layers listed with one real-world example per layer.
•​ Ports table includes all 10 ports with correct protocol (TCP/UDP).
•​ Exactly 3 TCP vs UDP differences are written, each explained (not just listed).
•​ Report is submitted within the July 3 – July 5 window.

4. Appendix — Quick-Reference Notes

4.1 Key Terms

•​ NAT (Network Address Translation) — lets a private IP share one public IP to reach the internet.
•​ Subnet Mask — defines which part of an IP address is the network vs. the host.
•​ Handshake — the setup exchange (e.g., TCP's 3-way handshake) before real data flows.
•​ Well-known ports — 0–1023, reserved for standard services (e.g., 80, 443, 22).

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